The Seaesta Zine - April 27th
What's For Dinner, Mom? Q&A with Lindsay Stopnik! And a few other fun goodies.
I’m so excited to have a Q&A with Lindsay Stopnik today! You may recognize Lindsay and her family from this cute photo feature we did with them last year. Or maybe you already follow their fun & creative adventures on Instagram. I was so excited to see that Lindsay started a new account solely focused on cooking family meals (plus some garden and chicken updates!) called “What’s For Dinner, Mom?” I thought it would be fun to ask her some questions about getting kids involved in the kitchen, some of her favorite quick meal ideas & more!
What are your go-to weeknight meals?
My go-to weeknight meals would definitely be something easy. I love cooking with whole foods. There is so much simplicity that can come with that. One of the meals on repeat in our home is just some basic tacos. We love getting steak from Costco and living off of it the entire week. We’ll barbecue that up. I’ll take cherry tomatoes, onions, cilantro and pickled jalapeños to make a pico de gallo. Smash some avocados with a little salt and pepper, for guac. That’s it. So basic and simple. But, there is something so delicious about it. If you want to take it to the next level, having good tortillas will do that. The kids love to make them. It doesn’t feel like a huge extra step. They have fun with it. Or the uncooked tortillas from Costco are pretty addicting too. Simple meals, with good basic ingredients are my jam!
Here’s a link to her video where she shows one week of meals using the Costco flank steak!
Did you grow up in a household that liked to cook and included kids in the process? Did that shape how you do things?
Growing up my mom had dinner on the table almost every night. She took her job seriously. I remember her grocery lists looking crazy. She kept us fed with delicious dinners. I can’t remember ever not liking any of her dinners. Most of the time it was from scratch. Although, I do remember eating Mac n’ Cheese and Shake n’ Bake chicken from time to time. Oh and Bisquick biscuits. I remember helping a little in the kitchen growing up… baking Valentine’s cookies with my mom. My younger brother loved to cook so I remember her letting him help a lot in the kitchen. I really didn’t learn how to cook until I got married.
My mom definitely paved the way for me, though. As far as how I view cooking for my family and how nourishing them with home cooked meals is a job to take pride in.
What are some of your pantry staples?
Some of my pantry staples are meat, fruit, butter, flour and good salt.
I try to not buy too much bread. Which forces us to get creative with flour when we want it. I love having herbs in the garden at all times too.
How do you keep your kids involved with cooking? Does it stress you out if they make a mess? Are there certain meals that are easier for them to help with?
The kids are in the kitchen almost as much as I am. It all started when they were tiny little babes. They were welcome in the kitchen, sometimes (a lot of times), begrudgingly. They would offer help, but, honestly it was more work than help. I think kids are just born wanting to do what they see their parent’s doing. I wanted to try my hardest to facilitate that interest. Even though it felt very overwhelming at times.
The messes definitely would stress me out. They quickly grew out of toddlers “helping”, into kids that offer legitimate help and can cook their own meals though. I remember when they hit about 8 years old, they loved to bake. I would tell them they could bake as long as they left the kitchen like it never happened. I would go garden just to distract myself from their huge mess. By the end of their baking sesh, it would be (almost) like it never happened.
If I could encourage all the mothers of the world with young ones... I know how overwhelming it can be. Especially at the end of the day when you just want to be done. But, if you train those little hands to help, eventually those little hands become big hands. They’ll be making you dinners and cleaning up after themselves in no time. It comes sooner than you think.
What are your kitchen device must-haves? I feel like I see you with a cool cutting board on your videos?! Anything else you always find yourself using?
I love a cute cutting board! It’s sort of like having a cute bag.
A family friend @thecrankycarpenter made the wood cutting boards! The colorful ones are @pinchyproducts. I find lots of practical ways to use them, but I don’t cut on them. They’re plastic, so that’s the only bummer. I still love them so much and find every possible way to use them.
I just got some of my grandma’s dishes and cooking tools. Food was my grandma’s love language. Her kitchen was so clean and organized with all the tools. It’s so nostalgic to be using her things to make my family food.
What are your family’s favorite pizza toppings? Will you resurrect your pizza or sourdough biz??
Favorite pizza toppings. We’re pretty basic. Love a good cheese or pepperoni. Or if we’re feeling fancy, bbq chicken toppings. Pickled jalapeños are always good too. The pizza biz was fun while it lasted. I still sell freeze dried sourdough starter! Or if you’re local, fresh starter.
If you have people coming over for dinner, what is your go-to meal for a big group?
Probably sourdough pizza or tacos! Pizza is usually a crowd pleaser. Not to mention an affordable meal to make for a big group. I also like doing tacos because you can prep most of the things before hand. All you have to do is barbecue the meat when you’re ready.
A few recipes of Lindsay’s to check out:
Gluten Free Pita Bread - 10 minutes of prep!
Where to follow Lindsay: @Lindsay_stopnik is my main account, which is mostly lifestyle type stuff and @whats4dinner_mom is my new foodie account. It’s everything from meals we make, to food we’re growing in the garden.
Love Lindsay and her fam! Super inspiring and creative.
Ok quick house cleaning… our Last Few Sale is going strong for one more week so grab what we have left - no code needed and 40% off flannels, fleece & more.
Our Seaesta x Heather Taylor Home collab is selling fast so snag your favorites before they sell out because these won’t restock.
What I’m Buying
I love the butter yellow trend right now (our Seaesta take on the butter yellow trend is: Wavy Checks Banana Boardshorts / Wavy Checks Swimsuit / Shoreline Tee - all best-sellers since last year! Early to the trend!!) But I’m also loving these butter yellow nail polishes: Chanel, Olive & June, Essie.
Random but I got one of these chargers for my nightstand and I’m obsessed with it. It keeps everything so much neater and my phone displays like a clock while its charging!
I made a Mother’s Day gift guide filled with things I would personally appreciate ;)
What I’m Cooking
Rosemary Honey Halloumi Fries via Tahini Baby Cookbook that looks so good! Also pre-ordered that cookbook because its right up my alley.
Save this recipe for the perfect summer salad (gift link to NYT): Chopped Salad With Jalapeño-Ranch Dressing
This pesto lasagna looks really good for spring/summer with some homemade basil and tomatoes from the garden!
Looks like i’m running out of room so wishing you all a great week! Drop a comment if you have a favorite weeknight meal to share or a Mother’s Day gift item on your wish list!